Stephen John Hunter (born June 14, 1948) is an American guitarist, primarily a session player. He has worked with Lou Reed and Alice Cooper and been often called "The Deacon".[1] Hunter first played with Mitch Ryder's Detroit, beginning a long association with record producer Bob Ezrin who has said Steve Hunter has contributed so much to rock music in general that he truly deserves the designation of "Guitar Hero".[2] Steve Hunter has played some of the greatest riffs in rock history[3] - that first slamming solo that rings in Aerosmith's "Train Kept A Rollin'", the acoustic intro on Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill" and he wrote the legendary intro interlude that made Lou Reed's live version of "Sweet Jane" Reed's first gold record (the Rock 'N' Roll Animal live set).

Steve Hunter was born and raised in Decatur, Illinois. He was first introduced to music when, as a young child, he would listen to country and western music on a Zenith console radio and his father would play the guitar. He watched the Lawrence Welk show on TV at his grandparents home where he saw Neil LeVang and Buddy Merrill. His grandparents had a Harmonium and his father would sit young Steve on his lap and pump the organ while Steve would work out melodies on the keyboard. When he was eight years old he began to take guitar lessons on a Lap steel guitar. He saw and heard Jerry Byrd play the lap steel and learned what could be done on the instrument. He eventually switched to the standard guitar and was influenced by the music of Chet Atkins, The Ventures and Duane Eddy.[4]

Hunter continued playing guitar throughout high school where he played in a group called the Weejuns, taking their name from a shoe. Later he joined the Light Brigade, a rock and soul group that played in the Decatur area.

In 1967, during the Vietnam War, Hunter was drafted into the Army, trained as an x-ray technician, and served in an air evacuation hospital in Okinawa, Japan where Vietnam combat casualties were being treated. He considered becoming a doctor but he enjoyed music so much he knew he would follow a career in music.[5]

After his service in the Army, he returned to Decatur where he built a reputation as a gifted guitar player.
One day he got a telephone call from his Decatur friend, John "Polar Bear" Sauter, that changed his life.

John Sauter called Hunter to tell him that he was playing with Mitch Ryder in Detroit and that Ryder was auditioning for guitar players. He suggested that Hunter come to Detroit and try out. Hunter packed up his guitar and made the eight-hour drive to Detroit.
Hunter made the cut and became part of Mitch Ryder's new band Detroit. Here Hunter met and formed a long-time professional association with producer Bob Ezrin.
Detroit released one self-titled album on Paramount Records. They had a hit with a cover of Lou Reed's "Rock & Roll". Reed was so impressed with Hunter's arrangement and performance on that song that he recruited Hunter to join his band.[3]

In the 1970s, he appeared on five Alice Cooper albums, all of which were produced by Ezrin. His first recording with Alice Cooper was in 1973 as a session musician on the second to last and most successful album recorded by the Alice Cooper group, Billion Dollar Babies. When Alice Cooper became a solo artist, Hunter followed and appeared on the 1975 groundbreaking album and live show Welcome to My Nightmare alongside guitarist Dick Wagner as seen in the film Welcome to My Nightmare. This was released on home video in 1976 and featured the celebrated guitar battle between Hunter and Wagner that formed part of the Alice Cooper 1975 live show. In 2010, Hunter also worked on the basic tracks and solos for Alice Cooper's album Welcome 2 My Nightmare and then toured with Alice Cooper throughout 2011 on the No More Mr. Nice Guy Tour.[6]
Steve notched up his 9th Alice Cooper release with ‘Paranormal’ released in 2017

In 1974, he played the (uncredited) opening-half solo on Aerosmith's "Train Kept A Rollin" from Get Your Wings.
In a February 2015 interview in Detroit Rock N Roll Magazine Hunter tells how it came about that he recorded the opening solo of Aerosmith's "Train Kept a Rollin":
"Aerosmith was in Studio C of The Record Plant and I was doing work with Bob Ezrin in Studio A. I had a long wait between dubs and was waiting in the lobby. Jack Douglas popped his head out of Studio C and asked 'Hey, do you feel like playing?' I said sure, so I grabbed my guitar and went in. I had two run thru's, then Jack said 'great, that's it!' That turned out to be the opening solos on 'Train Kept A Rollin’'."[8]

In 1974, shortly after his work with the band on the live Reed albums, Hunter played guitar on former Cream bassist Jack Bruce's solo album Out of the Storm.

He played on Peter Gabriel's self-titled first solo album (1977) that included the classic single "Solsbury Hill" which was likewise produced by Ezrin.[9] He also played on tour with Gabriel for the North American leg and a few shows in the UK during March / April 1977, sharing guitar duties with Robert Fripp.

Other artists Hunter has worked with include David Lee Roth (in the mid-1990s), Julian Lennon, Dr. John, Tracy Chapman and more recently Glen Campbell and 2Cellos. It was while recording Roth's A Little Ain't Enough that Hunter met Jason Becker. Hunter and Becker have remained the best of friends since.[10] He wrote "Camelia", which is featured on the soundtrack of the film The Rose, starring Bette Midler, and performed as part of the backing band. Additionally, he appears in the film Blame it on the Night, a movie co-written by Mick Jagger, featured as one of the guitarists in the band.